The EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is a world first and a major weapon in Europe's fight against climate change. The innovative system has turned carbon dioxide emissions into a tradeable commodity. They can now be bought and sold like any other of the thousands of products traded on world markets today.
The scheme works by placing a limit or a 'cap' on the amount of carbon dioxide participating installations - currently around 10,500 across the European Union - can emit every year. If an installation emits more than its allowance, it must either pay a very hefty fine or buy surplus allowances from companies that have managed to stay below their limit. The system ensures that overall CO2 emissions from the plants covered are cut in the most cost effective way.

With the nights drawing in, the question of lighting our homes and public places is once again on people's minds. This video shows how the European Union encourages schemes to switch to energy efficient lighting in private homes, at the workplace and on the streets.

Global warming is one of the biggest issues of our time. To meet the targets set for reducing CO2 emissions, it's widely accepted that new technology will play an important role, sometimes as a "bridging technology", while alternative sustainable energy sources are being developed. One of the most promising technologies is Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). This a means of capturing CO2 from sources such as power plants, compressing the CO2 and storing it away safely in geological formations underground or under the seabed instead of releasing it into the atmosphere.

The purpose of this report is to assess how much
biomass could technically be available for energy
production without increasing pressures on the
environment. As such, it develops a number of
environmental criteria for bioenergy production,
which are then used as assumptions for modelling
the primary potential. These criteria were developed
on a European scale. Complementary assessments
at more regional and local scale are recommended
as a follow-up of this work.